news - artspace wonthaggiartspacewonthaggi.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/... · josuas coffin with...

3 Dec 2016 to 27 Jan 2017 Sculptures at Lucinda – featuring great local artists. See flyer on page 14. 15 Jan 2017 Visitors Welcome – at our new address 1 Bent Street. Small event encouraging visitors to the area to see the gallery, and find out more about Wonthaggi. 11am to 1pm. 17 Jan 2017 Wet Felting Workshop for children at Coal Creek Heritage Park Korumburra. Contact Janice Graham on 0407 094516.

Newsletter #23 November/December 2016

News

Events and Exhibitions

ArtSpace Wonthaggi Gallery –1 Bent Street, Wonthaggi Vic 3995 5-7 McBride St until 9th January 2017

www.artspacewonthaggi.com.au

Centennial Centre – Open for Business We’re open for business in our new abode – the Wonthaggi information centre – or Centennial Centre as it’s officially called.

Thanks to hard work and perseverance by members of all groups involved – ArtSpace, Wonthaggi Business and Tourism Association, the Volunteer Information team and Bass Coast Shire Council- we have now taken up residence in this lovely new space. Up until 9th January we will be running both locations to ensure people know where to find us for those lovely thoughtful Christmas presents. After that date we will close the doors on McBride St and be solely located at 1 Bent St May you and your families be happy and healthy over the celebratory season and we will see you all again in the New Year.

John Mutsaers, Dan Luscombe BCSC , Ursula Theinert President of ArtSpace and Dee Connell President of WBTA signing the

MOU papers.

Outside walls of 1 Bent St with new signage.



The first hang in the new space.



Featured Artist – Heather Towns Ratiti sauntered over and demanded attention. I had only just entered the amazingly colourful art studio of Heather Towns and already her Tonkinese cat was sizing me up. Ratiti, or in English ‘Fijian Princess’ (who only answers if you roll the ‘R’ and is so protective of her domain that she will Velcro herself to an unfortunate dog that comes past) only responds to the Fijian language. The reason being that Heather used to have her second home there. In a traditional bure, nestled on a fringe of an idyllic white sandy beach, Heather would flee the pressures of her graphic arts business whenever she could.

It was very primitive with most either not having access to, or choosing not to, attend the western hospitals. Her very dear friend who looked after her bure and boat, Josua, built like an Adonis, was sick – but went to a snake oil doctor. He started wasting away and Heather got a message from his cousin to come quickly. She caught the next plane to Fiji and with mobile phone in one hand talking to a doctor friend from St Vincents and her other hand moving over Josh’s body they tried to work out what was wrong. The Doctor suspected lymphoma. She managed to get Josh and his wife on a plane to Australia – but it was his embalmed body in a coffin that went back home. While funeral and body transportation arrangements were being taken care of she painted Josua’s coffin with the patterns that the Fijian people painted on their tapa cloths in the brown and white and with frangipani flowers with blocked out centres so that his friends and family could write messages to him of their love and respect for him.

She was accepted into the community but only on the proviso that she obeyed ‘fish people’s’ village rules. She laughs as she describes that one part of the rules was to wear the dress worn by the locals. The women would purchase a bolt of fabric and make the traditional, shall we say, less than elegant frocks and all wear them. One day, they all lined up on the beach, along with Heather to pose for a photograph. Heather laughs, “We looked like a curtain.” What was worse was the coconut husk threaded with frangipani flowers that she had to wear around her neck which felt worse than a hair shirt. But she was happy there eating fresh fish every night and sitting on the floor on woven mats and listening to the stories.

Featured Artist – Heather Towns

Without Josh, it was not the same. The boat was no longer looked after and the bure was last seen on the horizon when a cyclone hit. She sold the boat’s engine and gave the proceeds to Josua’s wife. But it was this place that became so influential in her art. The raw and repetitive nature of tribal art which she found in the Pacific, Africa, Mexico and American Indian art is what inspires her. She loves the “pattern on pattern on pattern.” She certainly has no desire to be a tonal artist. What she loves is pushing colours backwards and forwards, push and pull. Her first forays into art where not about colour. She managed to forage some charcoal from the incinerator when she was less than five and drew patterns down the concrete paths surrounding her father’s vegie patches. But her parents weren’t enthusiastic about her attempts at drawing and gave her dolls instead of pencils. She would design and make elaborate costumes for the dolls and then put them in her drawer – job done – she certainly didn’t want to play with them. Heather used to tell everyone she wanted to be an artist to which her parents would reply, “No she’s not.” Whilst she wanted to go to art school her mother wanted her to play piano and tennis and marry a doctor. Heather was terrible at school and so ended up at tech school where she was bribed with a transistor radio by her parents to make her attend. She was taught to cook (she failed cooking a brown stew on three occasions), home economics (as she refers it how to iron a man’s shirt), social studies, sewing and art. Her parents wanted her to become either a nurse (as her mother was) or a teacher and refused to support her in art. Heather thought that there was no point in living, and not finding a knife handy, and thinking that it would be a bit tricky to strangle herself with her stockings, decided to drink a bottle of weed killer. The trouble was she hadn’t realised that it would cause some violent vomiting which was, as she says, “hard to do quietly”.


Her parents relented and allowed her to sit for entrance exams to Swinburne College of Art. They only did so because they didn’t believe she had a chance – after all only 10% were chosen from 700 applicants. And – yes – you guessed it – Heather was one of the successful applicants. But then two thirds of the way through the course her parents stopped supporting her financially. You can understand why as in those days the tram fare was £21 a term and a drawing set £50 when a block of land was £300. And so she had to support herself – and through ways and means she finally completed her studies.


Zulu Studio


She then trained in Graphic Design and studied under Garry Emery setting up her own graphic design business, Towns & Co which later became Value Added Design. Think Epworth Hospital, Mildara Blass and Melbourne Docklands and you will realise what an impact Heather has had on developing iconic brands. For her it is not just the ‘mark’ that makes a brand – but the culture of thought – enabling her to discover the ideals and ambitions of the many corporations she worked with. She is not only passionate about art, but also about knowledge. She despairs about news programs that devote 10 minutes to news, 20 minutes to sport, and not a dot about art or science. The Victorian of the Year is a scientist. “But what do we know about him?” she laments. Confident and witty, with a strong sense of perspective is how I would describe Heather and so I was surprised to hear that she does not like it when the attention is on her exclusively. She has taken up belly dancing for fitness but also for the tribal feeling that it gives – but she tells me she stays at the back – she would never want to be at the forefront.

At her own first art opening she was so agitated she decided to take some ‘relaxants’, promptly fell out of the car that delivered her to the venue, answered the fellow who asked her what her ‘Medusa’ meant by stating it was wall decoration, and then promptly got back in the car to home. She didn’t last five minutes. Now a permanent resident of Bass Coast, Heather bought her father’s house from him and is now settled in Cape Paterson – her home on and off since 1958. She acknowledges that her art, which is a conversation between shapes and perspective, is not for everyone. As she says, “You don’t have to like it – but don’t be rude.” She works in acrylic because her style of art does not have the time to wait for oils to dry. She explains that is because each block of colour is so interconnected to the next – if she changes a colour in one – she can’t wait for it to dry to change the others. However it is not just painting, but lino printing and textiles are part of her repertoire.

Zulu Dancing


Zulu Studio


She is a member of Artback – a group of painters that goes out bush and she is constantly amazed at how they can all look at the same thing and interpret it differently. Her companions laugh sometimes at her straight lines – but then she asks them if they could do it. Heather believes that art can only be accomplished with love, diligence and talent – and only a few moments in her company she has them all.

Describing herself as a ‘doer’, Heather’s next project is working with John Mutsaers on gaining some interest in a project, ‘Patinas, Patterns and Painters’. The idea is to have monthly tours of artists’ galleries in the region with viewings and then following up with a soirée where artists will chose a topic to discuss – anything from technique, canvas, colour to brush strokes. If you are interested please get in contact with Heather on [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


PS When I sent the draft back to Heather I also had the temerity to comment on her business bio. I said, “Forgive me - it is my mother's influence who was an English teacher who can see an inappropriate apostrophe from 100 paces. In your business bio one has snuck in there…” She kindly told me she didn’t mind and then went on to say, “Didn’t I tell you I am also dyslexic? (Not even sure if that’s how you spell it). Interesting isn’t it, my Dad was dyslexic, then me, then my son (he’s really bad) and now my grandson...sad and difficult, but doesn’t stop ideas or life. Richard Branson is also dyslexic... And my son’s favourite saying is...Great minds think differently – Not: Great minds think alike.” Frankly if I wasn’t impressed about Heather before this – now I truly am.

Website Designs

Glen Orchard of gtcdesign has created our lovely new website.

Sculptures at Lucinda



Art Supplies Fiona Fleming from the Wonthaggi Newsagent in Murray Street is now stocking Art Spectrum , Colourfix in packs of 10 or 20 roughly A4 size in smooth & original. The packaging looks great and comes in either Cool or Warm colours or a pack of 20 with all colours for both. She also has other art supplies in which to indulge – or hint at as presents for under the tree!

Tidelines



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